Finally, on the Virus & threat protection settings screen, toggle the buttons beneath Real-time protection and Cloud-delivered protection from On to Off.

When Virus & threat protection opens, scroll down to Virus & threat protection settings and click Manage settings.

On the Windows Security screen, click Virus & threat protection.

On the left pane of Windows Update, click Windows Security.

Then, on the Windows Settings screen, click Update & Security.

Right-click Windows 10 Start menu and click Settings.

How to Turn off Windows Defender on Windows 10 from Windows Settings

How to Turn off Windows Defender on Windows 10 with PowerShell.

How to Turn off Windows Defender on Windows 10 from Registry.

How to Turn off Windows Defender on Windows 10 from Windows Settings.

You should now see that Windows 11 now recognizes AVG Antivirus (or your preferred antivirus app) protecting your computer. Once your software is installed, open the Windows Security app. This action will automatically disable Microsoft Defender.Ģ.

Install your preferred antivirus software (in this case, AVG Antivirus Free). Although our example uses AVG Antivirus Free, installing any credible antivirus program will have the same effect in disabling Microsoft Defender.ġ. It’s a free, no-frills Microsoft Defender alternative that has been around for two decades.

Let’s use AVG Antivirus Free (opens in new tab) as an example. Installing a third-party antivirus security suite will automatically put Microsoft Defender on the back burner. There's another way to disable Microsoft Defender once and for all, and not just the real-time antivirus function. Disable Microsoft Defender by Installing Another Antivirus Program However, scans already scheduled for your system will continue unabated. Microsoft warns that potentially harmful apps and files downloaded from the Internet are not scanned when real-time protection is disabled. Remember, this only temporarily disables real-time antivirus protection.

How do i turn windows defender off